Cameron Diaz on Circumcision

Today on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Cameron Diaz got quickly to the heart of things as she's been doing in all her interviews lately when she turned to the audience and said, "Can we just talk about circumcision for a second?" And continued, "Gentlemen, are you comfortable with circumcision? Are you comfortable talking about that?" With Fallon chuckling in the background and an audience making light of a subject many likely know very little about, Diaz said, "It's funny how many men actually want circumcision for their children... I would think that men would be like, 'No - don't touch it. Leave it alone.' But apparently many men are not comfortable with foreskin..." And Diaz may just be out to change that.

In the new film, What to Expect When You're Expecting, Diaz and co-star, Matthew Morrison, play a couple who venture through many new territories as they move toward parenthood. One of the subjects that comes up - and one which their characters, Jules and Evan don't see eye to eye on at first - is circumcision. Evan is Jewish, but after diving into research on the subject, Jules learns more and more just how unnecessary and barbaric infant genital cutting is.

What to Expect originally included a detailed description of just how infant circumcision happens in North America. This description of circumcision (essentially the same no matter if surgical amputation is done via Plastibell or Gomco clamp) landed on the cutting room floor.

Cameron explained in a CafeMom interview:

We knew [people were skittish] when they made us cut out a bunch about circumcision. To get a PG-13 rating we had to cut out the actual description of circumcision. So apparently it is very uncomfortable for people to hear how it works -- when you have to clamp on the foreskin, pull it over [the glans], and then slice it off. That is apparently really uncomfortable for people to hear. But I think it is important to know. America is the same way about their beef - they just want it delivered in a styrofoam package with saran wrap over it. They don't want to know how it got to you. Same thing with circumcision...

The shocker in this is not that Americans remain ignorant to the realities of circumcision, or even that this big film chance to educate the masses on infant genital cutting was passed up. Rather, it is that describing such truths would earn the film an "R" rating, while at the same time we continue to subject the most innocent of our little ones to such horrors each day...

We DO it. We just don't talk about it.

How many perfect, healthy newborn baby boys will be cut this coming Friday on the day What to Expect is released in theaters? How many of those babies will face one of the many negative consequences of circumcision? How many of their parents will regretfully find this information too late - because no one was willing to share with them? How many American boys will have their bodies permanently altered, and experience a life-long change in function? How many of those boys will grow to be men who would have liked to have their whole penis?

Who is going to speak up?

Diaz tried.

Will you?

Question circumcision. Research genital cutting. Being fully informed will never hurt you... but it may just benefit your children.

Diaz and Morrison CafeMom Interview:

Diaz TODAY Interview (includes circumcision clip from What to Expect):

Wow, at first I thought this was another dingbat romantic comedy movie about a pregnant chick expecting her baby with her LUUUHUUUHV and LUUUHUUUV proves completely incompetent, she leaves him, they come back at labour blahblhablah... Looks like this movie might have a bit of bite to it...tempting to see it now (I normally steer away from 'chick flicks') Now if Cammy had a home birth and whatnot..that would rock. :D

I just went to try and find the clip, and Jimmy Fallon's website has two parts to her interview up, and it looks like they cut the circumcision stuff out before posting them. :( I'll have to try to watch it on hulu once it is up.

I adore that Diaz is taking this new film op to bring up the subject of circumcision every single chance she gets. She may not always get to say all that she wants to say on the topic (many seem to feel uncomfortable or laugh or cut her short) but she IS raising awareness in the process and is also sparking some to be curious enough to check things out further on their own. Win for research and the educated masses. :)

This is great. Sounds like that movie is based on all the "trendy" behaviors of new parents. And, of course, they have to depict a woman not being able to handle her labor and begging for an epidural. Sure there is nothing wrong with that, but when have you ever seen a Hollywood film depict a peaceful home birth? I hate the way America influences birth and parenthood.

I guess we can assume Matthew Morrison is circumcised. He didn't say anything to the contrary or say he thinks it's good to be uncircumcised. Based on another interview I saw him do about this movie, I get the sense he is not against circumcision like Cameron. When he was interviewed by Kathy Lee Gifford yesterday, he agreed with her that the parents should "get the clamps and snip it."

I wasn't surprised to hear Kathy Lee Gifford speak in favor of circumcision and joke about it, because she has done that many times over the years and her son Cody's circumcision is public knowledge. I was a bit more surprised to see Matthew Morrison joke about it and basically come out in favor of parents having their boys snipped. Here is the link to the MSNBC interview:

Man... This makes me wish I had worked harder to find sitters for my twins!! I was asked to be part of the lll meeting they hold during this movie since I was pregnant. I didn't make much effort since I hated the book and I knew they wouldn't be giving a realistic approach to birth. Oh well.. I'm still looking forward to seeing the movie!

Good to know the movie does something right. From the previews, it just looks like Hollywood's standard anti natural birth & anti breastfeeding movie though. I also really don't like how Hollywood portrays dads as idiots in these kind of movies. So, I still won't be seeing it.

I'm generally not a big fan of Cameron Diaz, but I applaud her for insisting to talk about circumcision and how the topic of circumcision is being treated by society in general and film censors in particular.

I actually just saw Gangs of New York the other day. Really changed my opinion on Miss Diaz, for the better. I really liked her in it. I was afraid that reading this she would turn out to be pro-circ like tardy sandra bullock. Thankfully, Cameron stays amazing in my books and is probably the most famous person to come out against mgm (Mario Lopez is probably a close second).

This is an amazing message, thank you. However, I'm not too happy with what Cameron says about men and how they shouldn't watch a vaginal birth....(in the second video)...this (like most movies and mainstream media), is the very reason there are so many misconceptions about something so natural as a vaginal delivery. My husband witnessed it all and he would never have wanted it any other way. Then again, I educated myself enough and had an amazing, more peaceful birth. What do others of you think? Thanks so much for bringing this to light, peaceful parenting, great post.

Watched the fallon interview. She *just* starts talking about circumcision and they immediately go to commercial break. I get the feeling they did that on purpose to avoid having the discussion. Which makes Cameron's speaking out all the more praiseworthy. She is confronting a taboo subject. Bravo, Cameron.

Hollywood has belatedly clued in to the intactivist revolution that has swept through everyday parents west of the Continental Divide.Diaz has never conceived a child or been married. But Wikipedia reveals a detail that may have been crucial to her present understanding: "From 1990 to December 1994, Diaz cohabited with video producer Carlos de la Torre."

Nice work Cameron. Most people simply have it done To their children because they think it's just the thing to be done as no one says otherwise (especially in the US). Standing up against it makes people question why they're actually doing it. Leaving the decision for the child actually living with the penis is the best way. I know too many circumcised adults who would have liked the choice.. And that must be torture to live with.

As a man who was circumcised as a child without his consent I can tell you that I am angry everyday that this was done to me, it needs to stop. Please check out Foregen, they're an organization working on the possibility of regenerating a fully functional foreskin for a circumcised man from his bodies stem cells. Please consider supporting this and spread the word, I want this to become a reality so bad.